Of Classics and Legends
by DragonSleeves
Summary: All the portals to the classic realms were destroyed by Malefor and his minions. For years after his defeat, it was thought all the portals were destroyed. That was until an ice dragon stumbled into a forgotten portal. Spyro, Cynder, Flame, and Sparx go after her to bring her back but they find something haunting, something that threatens all the realms. Spyro/Cynder Flame/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I do not own Spyro or any other associated characters. I only own my own created fan-characters.**

~.–.~

There was an air of peace and prosperity in Warfang. For many years after the battle and defeat of Malefor, they had toiled to rebuild their broken home. The Guardians, including the new fire Guardian, Airen, had helped in any way they could and had offered the temple to those who needed a home. Buildings were repaired, streets cleaned of debris, and the temple returned to its former glory. It took the work of the moles and the dragons combined to complete the task.

When Warfang had once again taken its capital title, creatures and dragons alike flooded to the city, away from their own destroyed villages and towns. With them, they brought the skills of magic, farming, glassblowing, candlemakers, locksmiths, and even a very talented potter. Combined with the supreme mole knowledge of architects and carpentry, and the dragons' elements and ancient wisdom, Warfang was a very wealthy city indeed.

There were no more wars, no more battles. Malefor's minions had disappeared when he had been defeated and darkness was wiped from the lands. The legend of Spyro and Cynder's victory had been turned into a story told to children and hatchlings, and the occasional stranger who had yet to hear the tale.

After the city had been repaired and peace restored, The Guardians knew it was time to choose apprentices, four dragons who would take their place when they were ready. Volteer choose an energetic electricity dragon named Perun. Terrador choose a strong willed earth dragon named Raun. Airen picked a spirited fire dragoness named Enya. As for Cyril, he chose a thoughtful ice dragoness named Mirith.

Each apprentice had been chosen carefully out of many other dragons. They had proven to be eager to learn, ready to listen, and prepared for anything they must do inside and outside of training. They had each uttered the vow, binding them to the apprenticeship of each Guardian.

_ "I vow myself hereby and forevermore to the Guardians. I shall train to my very best ability, learn all I can, and do all that is required of me to protect the elements and protect those who wield it and those who depend on it."_

The apprentices grew, trained to be both fighters and peace-keepers. For while peace had been in the realms for years, the Guardians knew not to believe it to last forever. They were trained to master their element, defend themselves against others, and fight without the help of an element.

And so, for sixty years the apprentices trained and Warfang grew to one of the most popular and prosperous cities in the realms.

It is here, that our story begins.

~.–.~

**Author note!**

** I know, this is a really short chapter. But I promise, the following chapters will be much longer!  
**

** Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this tiny chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

The cart rolled swiftly through the streets on smooth wooden wheels. The citizens of Warfang leapt out of the way, crying out in shock and yelling after the cart. The only thing heard from the cart was the puff of air and the giggles and whoops of its riders. Three dragons chased the cart through Warfang.

"STOP THE CART!" One of the pursuers, a bright red dragon, shouted.

Contrary to her order, the cart actually sped up as the small wind hatchling sucked in a great gust of air and released it towards the sail placed in the center of the cart. The other cart riders, a young seal, a cloud kitten, and a fire hatchling cheered as the cart zipped past a series of stores.

"Oh, for the love of-" Raun shot the fire dragoness an exasperated look. "Thanks Enya!"

"Just shut up and catch them!" Enya snapped.

Raun rolled his eyes but said nothing more.

The cart began to slow. The wind hatchling took another deep breath.

"Eros! Don't!" Mirith begged.

Eros only grinned back at her, then blew at the sail. The cart went flying forward, rattling over a few small bumps in the street. The seal pulled at the pole attached to the front wheels and turned it. The cart turned around a corner with a boost from Eros' wind. They squealed as they rounded the corner.

The three apprentices turned around the corner after them, almost bumping into each other while doing so. The cart was driving everyone out of the streets. One satyr merchant in particular had to shove his cart out of the way before the children's cart ran into his. There were yells and cries, both before and after the cart.

"The cart runs ahead of it's pursuers! There is no hope for the dragons! The children are too fast for the slow, fat apprentices to catch!" the electric dragon roared over the uproar.

"You're not helping, Perun!" Raun shouted.

Perun only laughed. A bolt of electricity traveled between his horns and his head twitched. Instead of replying to Raun, he continued announcing, running along the rooftops beside the cart. "With another breeze from Eros, the cart goes flying forward, shooting through the streets at a speed unmatched by any pilfered cart before! Sally the seal turns the cart down another corner, leaving behind the three apprentices!"

Mirith shot the unhelpful dragon an icy glare that went unheeded. She turned her attention back to the cart and turned around the corner, digging her claws into the street ground before she went skidding to the side.

"The cart races through the street- right towards a dip in the road!" Perun stopped cackling, his amusement rapidly being replaced by horror. "Stop! Stop the cart!"

Eros released another gust of wind, boosting the cart forward.

Perun hopped up and down in place. "Get them!" he yelled to the other apprentices. "There's a dip in the road!"

Now Mirith could see the dip. It was further down the road, and the cart was rapidly heading towards it. The children on board remained unaware of the approaching dip, giggling and squealing with glee.

"We're not going to reach them in time!" Enya cried.

The cart was still ahead of them. Mirith could only watch as the front wheels caught on the dip in the road. The cart tipped forward, and she heard the children switch from laughing to screaming.

She took a deep breath, feeling the familiar cold sensation prick at her lungs and fill her body. She released the frigid frost gathering inside of her with a swift breath. Snow shot in front of her in a thick line, gathering in a tall pile just before the cart.

The children's screams were cut off as they sank into the pile of snow, quickly disappearing out of sight in the white fluffiness.

"And Mirith saves the day with her blizzard breath!" Perun announced loudly.

Perun was ignored. Mirith, Enya, and Raun reached the upturned cart just as the children were poking their head out of the snow. Enya fixed them with a firm look and a scowl.

"You all- are in- huge trouble," she stated breathlessly.

"We were just having fun," the red hatchling grumbled. The snow around him was quickly melting.

"And creating a mess while you were at it." Mirith looked up at Perun. "Perun! Get down here and do something useful!"

Perun grinned. "As you wish, dear Mirith!" He hopped off the rooftop and glided over to them.

Raun turned the cart back up, righting it on its wheels. The sail had broken and was lying in sections on the ground. He gathered them up and placed them back in the cart, muttering under his breath.

"I'll take this back," he told them and looked sternly at the children. "I'll explain to Mason how his cart was broken."

The children had the grace to look ashamed.

"We didn't mean to break it," Eros whimpered. He looked up at Raun with wide blue eyes. "Will he be mad at us?"

"We'll see." Raun pushed the cart away, back down the street they had dashed down.

"Now, lets get you all back to the nursery." Enya beat her wings until she hovered in the air. She reached down and scooped the seal pup into her hands.

"I'll grab these two trouble-makers!" Perun picked up Eros and allowed the cloud kitten to clamber onto his back. "Hold on tight!" he yelled back to her, flying up over the buildings.

Mirith watched them fly off then turned to the remaining child. The red hatchling was scowling furiously at his feet and the heat radiating off his scales had almost completely melted Mirith's snow, turning the last of it into slush.

"Right then. Come on, Halades." Mirith winged her way into the air and gently picked up the hatchling between her front paws. "It's time to get you back to the nursery."

"I don't want to," Halades grumbled as she soared upwards.

Mirith was unsympathetic. "Too bad."

People were already milling about the streets again, the chaos from just a few moments before all but forgotten. Raun was pushing the cart down below, carefully steering it around a corner, back towards the carpenter's store.

"Can we please not go to the nursery?" Halades begged, looking up at her with pleading golden eyes.

Mirith arched an eyeridge at him. "Where would you suggest we go?"

The hatchling had to think over that for a moment. His eyes brightened and he looked back up at her with a hopeful smile. "The gemcutters? I've always wanted one of those pretty yellow stones!"

"No." Mirith shook her head. "We are not about to go beg the gemcutters for a stone. Not after how you've behaved today."

Halades puffed his cheeks out, his smile replaced by a deep frown. He glared at her, his eyes mere slits.

But Mirith paid him no attention. She slowly dived down towards the ground where she spotted Enya and Perun. They were talking with Lillian, one of the nursemaids. Lillian looked up as Mirith hovered beside them, gently setting Halades on the ground before landing.

"And here's the last of the bunch!" The faun scooped Halades in her arms and ushered him inside the nursery. "You are in big trouble, mister!"

"I don't want to be in trouble!" Halades whined.

"Then don't misbehave!" One of the other nursemaids scolded him, taking him into one of the backrooms.

Lillian turned back to the apprentices, smiling at them. "Thank you all so much for bringing those four back. We didn't know what we were going to do when we saw them taking off down the street!"

"All in a day's work!" Perun saluted her with his wing. "Whenever troublesome children wander through the streets, wreaking havoc throughout Warfang, we'll be there to chase them down and bring them back!"

"Not that you did much of anything," Enya muttered. She looked back to Lillian. "I'm just glad none of them were hurt, though the cart was broken."

"Well in any case, thank you, all of you." Lillian nodded to each of them. "I must return to work. Thank you again!" She waved to them, then walked into the nursery, closing the door behind her.

Enya groaned, walking away from the nursery. "Please Arthiles, don't make me chase after anymore irritating little children."

Mirith walked after her, a small smirk on her face. "Is the fire burning down?"

The red dragoness glared at her over her shoulder, much like the red hatchling had earlier. "I'll melt your butt if you aren't careful."

"I just want to point one thing out." Mirith pranced ahead of her, a large grin on her face. "_Ice_ saved the day, not fire."

"That's it! I'm going to kick your tail in!" Enya lunged towards her.

"You have to catch me first!" With a laugh, Mirith leapt into the air, beating the air into submission with her wings. She rose over the buildings of Warfang, Enya in close pursuit.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Perun raced after them. He quickly passed Enya then caught up to Mirith, shooting her a grin. "I'll see you two at the temple!" he cackled and another bolt of lightening traveled between his horns.

He dived past Mirith, tucking his thin wings to his sides to escalate his speed. Golden flashes crackled from his scales, enveloping his very wingtips. The electricity embraced him, surrounding him until nothing could be seen but his black horns. Soon enough, he was a mere yellow bolt traveling through the air, shooting ahead of Mirith and Enya.

"Cheater!" Enya screamed after him, though Mirith doubted he even heard it.

"He can get there as quickly as he likes. We'll arrive with much more grace and poise," Mirith stated, raising her head haughtily and closing her eyes.

She cracked an eye open at Enya's giggles. Mirith couldn't help but join in, her aloof facade disappearing with each laugh.

"Come on then. We need to get back to the temple so I can brag about how my superior ice skills saved those children from injury!" Mirith crowed, swooping down towards the ground.

"You snob!" Enya laughed.

Mirith didn't get the chance to reply. She spotted Cyril on one of the temple balconies and swerved her course towards him. She pressed her wings to her sides, diving down towards the balcony at a swift speed. She spread her wings as she reached the balcony, capturing the wind under her large wings. Then she landed onto the balcony, smiling up at her mentor.

"Mirith." Cyril greeted her with a nod of his head and a smile in return. "I heard it was your ice that protected the children."

"Perun already told you? Typical of an electricity dragon." Mirith rolled her eyes, though she was more amused than upset.

"Well, from what I could piece together of his swift blathering." Cyril turned around and gestured to Mirith with a tilt of his head.

Mirith walked beside him down the hall. "Well he was correct. It was my blizzard breath that saved the children from falling onto the street."

"Hardly surprising. Ice is an element of many uses," Cyril said proudly. "It both protects and defends."

"I certainly proved that today." Mirith grinned.

"And well done to you." Cyril acknowledged, dipping his head towards her.

Mirith silently preened under her mentor's praise. It was hard enough to impress him, let alone actually be congratulated on her performance!

"It is apparent you have mastered the blizzard breath. Now it is time we work on ice storm," Cyril continued. "You have yet to create a storm."

She frowned. Leave it to Cyril to praise her then tell her she needs to improve in the same breath!

"Come along then." Cyril remained blissfully unaware of her frown, leading the way towards the training arena. "Tonight we work on the ice storm!"

~.–.~

** AUTHORS NOTE: I'm sorry if in this story, someone seems out of character. It's something I've always had trouble with. **

** EDIT: Fixed a small problem I noticed.**

** Dragon warriors: Thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you like it! :D**

** Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was quiet. So quiet, she could hear each of Cyril's movements. Even from the center of the large room.

She closed her eyes as a comforting tingle traveled up her spine, a smile curling at the ends of her lips. She could already feel it, the gentle cold prickling her body, and she could taste victory on the tip of her tongue.

The icy chillness gathered about her and her breath turned into fog before her face. She released a long breath, watching it spiral in the frigid breeze and drift upwards. Frost gathered on her scales and wings, staining her blue scales a bright white.

She allowed her eyes to slide close as the ice enveloped her, blocking out her sight. Her wings curled forwards, wrapping around her head. She could hear the ice crackle and groan as it grew, and she felt the ever tightening embrace pressing against her wings. Warmth gathered in her chest, feeling like a fire around her heart.

This was it.

She curled in on herself, letting the ice press against her. The warmth strengthened as the ice thickened, until she could feel the ice beginning to melt.

Then the warmth exploded from her chest. She threw her wings out, pushing the ice onwards at swift speeds.

The ice shattered with a great _CRACK!_ Shards went flying in all directions, reaching the very edges of the room.

Mirith opened her eyes, breathing heavily from the effort. The ice shards drifted through the air, catching the sunlight from the sun above and casting tiny rainbows in every direction. She could taste the tiny shards in the air and felt them melt upon her scales.

"No. No. No. That is _snow!_ Not ice!" Cyril tutted, shaking his head. "You must remember not to let the heat grow too strong!"

"Yes." Mirith watched the snow cling to the ape dummies and pile on top of their heads. She sat down on the ground, swallowing hard. "Too much heat. As always."

Cyril left his position besides the training room doors. He walked towards her, craning his head to try and see her face. "Now don't become too discouraged, Mirith. Ice is a majestic element. It takes time to master."

"I know." Mirith took a deep breath, watching the last of the snow fall. She turned to Cyril, forcing a small smile on her face. "I'll get it eventually."

"Exactly." Cyril urged her up and led her towards the doors. "Come on then. We can try again later."

Mirith gladly left the training room, studiously ignoring the snow that she left behind.

~.–.~

"I still haven't mastered the ice storm!" Mirith complained, turning her frown to the stone floor beneath her.

Raun nudged her with his shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "You'll master it eventually."

"I've been trying for years now!" Mirith threw her wings up in the air. "I can't do it! All I manage is a small sprinkle of ice chips! Hardly enough to cause any damage!" She groaned, hanging her head. "I'm not fit to be a Guardian. Not at this rate."

"Don't be stupid," Raun snorted. "Cyril chose you because he knew you would be a wonderful Guardian. So you can't create an ice storm, big deal." Raun shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. "If anyone doubts your ability, you can just bury them in a pile of snow."

"Oh, perfect plan. Just bury anyone who doubts me in the biggest mountain of snow I can muster!" Mirith said sarcastically. She shook her head and shot Raun a tiny grin. "Should I start with Enya?"

"Only if you want to have your scales burned off!" Enya popped her head from a doorway, a deep scowl on her face.

Raun and Mirith laughed.

Enya's scowl disappeared. She walked into the hallway, a sly smirk crossing her face. "Anyway, I've just had a wonderful training session. I've mastered another move, the fire charge!" She glanced over at Mirith. "A little bird told me the superior ice apprentice has yet to master her next move."

"The little bird, and I'm assuming we're talking about Perun, was right. I still haven't gotten the ice storm down." Mirith walked by Enya, raising her head high. "But that's fine. I've still mastered more moves than you."

The fire dragon arched an eyeridge. "Did you now?"

"As a matter of fact." Mirith lowered her head and smiled at Enya. "But I am still impressed you mastered the fire charge. From what I've heard, it's a complicated maneuver."

"That it is," Enya agreed. She opened her mouth to continue, but another voice cut her off.

"And she will be working on an even more complex move tomorrow." A lean orange dragon walked out from the library, greeting each of them in turn with a nod of his head. "I hear Airen is quite proud of his apprentice."

"Taro." Enya nodded back to the older dragon. She looked delighted at his last comment. "I would hope so! I've been working hard to earn his pride!"

"You've done a good job at it." Taro turned his blue eyes from Enya to Mirith and Raun. "You've all worked hard and earned your right as apprentices. You will be terrific Guardians one day."

Mirith beamed at the compliment. "Thank you!"

"Oh, Mirith. I heard you've been having trouble with the ice storm." Taro's piercing gaze studied her.

Her smile faded. Mirith cleared her throat, looking down at her paws. "Yes. I'm still having trouble with the ice storm."

"No matter. You will get it eventually." Taro turned to walk back into the library.

He suddenly paused in the doorway, his shoulders tensing up. His head lifted and he turned his long neck to look back at her, his eyes glittering with excitement. "That reminds me! You know of the Hollow lake, do you not?"

Mirith looked up. She nodded her head, somewhat confused by the unexpected question. "Yes. I do. It's near the edge of the Avalar forest."

"Ah, good." The corners of his mouth turned up in a large smile. "It's not a terrible place to train. You could practice your ice storm there without any disturbances."

"But Hollow lake is very popular," Raun interjected. "You never see it empty during the day."

"Yes, during the _day._ But at night, it is empty. And with it being surrounded by glowing crystals, it isn't too dark." Taro looked back to Mirith. "I suggest you train there tonight. With the extra practice, you'll master the ice storm quickly."

"Right. I'll do that." Mirith nodded, her earlier smile returning. "Thank you, Taro!"

"My pleasure." Taro walked back into the library, stating over his shoulder. "Now give a dragon some peace! It is much too difficult to read with two apprentices trying to outbrag the other right in front of the library!"

"All right! I'll make them go brag somewhere else!" Raun called after him.

When Taro had disappeared into the library, Enya regarded Raun with a cynical gaze. "You'll make us brag somewhere else?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "We're older than you! Who said we'd listen to you?"

"Age is but a number. Wisdom is in the mind, not the years," Raun quoted. He grinned and lifted his head until he reached his full height. "Besides, I'm taller than both of you."

Enya and Mirith exchanged glances. They turned back to Raun with identical simpers.

"Height is but a size," Enya drawled.

"Strength is in the muscle, not the altitude," Mirith continued.

"And in the elements they wield," Enya finished.

Raun looked between them, his grin fading. "I'm going to regret that comment, aren't I?" He grimaced.

Definitely," Mirith and Enya chorused.

Without another word, Raun turned and ran off. Mirith and Enya chased after him, laughing merrily.

~ .–.~

Nights were always serene.

A full moon rested in the midst of the dark skies, casting silver light on the city below. It painted the buildings and trees a bright gray and cast light on the far away meadows. Stars floated nearby, their own glow looking dim compared to the bright moon.

Mirith stepped out onto the balcony. She stared out at Warfang, silently musing over the beautiful sight. There were a few creatures wandering the streets, talking with their friends, but she was much too far away to hear what they discussed.

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. The moonlight only reached a few feet into the hall. Then it relinquished the stones to the shadows, allowing it to become so dark, she couldn't see very far into it.

Even though she couldn't see it, she knew it was empty. There were no scuffs of paws on stone or quiet wisps of breaths.

It was silent.

Mirith looked back to Warfang. She lightly hopped onto the railing surrounding the balcony and spread her wings. With a powerful kick of her hind legs and a thrust of her wings, she leapt off the balcony and lifted herself in flight.

She drifted over Warfang, watching the buildings and streets slowly pass underneath her. No one glanced up as she glided over the streets, too immersed in their own conversations to notice the sound of her wings beating the wind. She could hear a few snatches of their chats, but not near enough to piece together what they were talking about.

No matter. She had better things to contend with than eavesdropping on oblivious creatures.

She looked back to the sky and winged her way higher towards the stars. Warfang grew smaller underneath her, until she could no longer see the creatures in the streets or hear their voices. She left the city behind, soaring over the empty meadows.

The night air was refreshing. No longer hot like it was during the day, it was now cooler, chillier. To many other creatures and dragons it would be uncomfortably cold, not so an ice dragon. To her, it was soothing.

She gazed upwards. The stars were bigger than every before, seeming almost close enough to touch. They twinkled above her and spread across the skies as far as the eye could see.

A gentle light from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Mirith tore her stare away from the stars, turning her face towards the source of the light.

Glowing blue crystals dotted the meadows, reaching up above the tall grasses. They surrounded a large lake, casting blue light across the waters and reflecting off the clear surface, and they reflected off the tall trees just beside the waters. The moon's reflection lay in the center of the lake, trembling each time the lake's surface was disturbed.

Mirith smiled. She dived down towards the lake, pressing her wings close. As she neared, she stretched her wings out again, slowing her descent towards the ground. She landed on the soft shores, just beside a glowing crystal.

She could taste the lake on the breeze and hear the rustling leaves and creaking branches. The wind urged small waves from the surface of the lake, warping the moon's reflection.

Just as Taro had told her, the lake was empty of all creatures. It was quiet, the only sound coming from the nearby forests and grassy meadows. It was almost eerie to see the popular lake abandoned.

_How could Taro practice here?_ Mirith couldn't help but wonder. The only place possible to train with fire was right beside the lake and from her experience with Enya, fire dragons hated getting wet.

She shrugged and walked towards the waters, scanning the area for the best place to practice. By the lake would work, but at the same time she didn't want to accidentally freeze the lake into solid ice. She knew it wouldn't melt by tomorrow. Practicing by the trees could kill them, same with the meadows.

She finally settled with a spot near a batch of small crystals. It was close enough to the lake to keep vegetation sparse but far enough that she would only freeze a portion of the lake if her ice got out of hand.

A rough bark rang through the air.

Mirith froze at the sound. It was unlike any she had ever heard, a low guttural sound that made her shiver unintentionally. She looked towards the sound, her eyes narrowing.

At first she thought it was a shadow near the blue crystal.

Then two glowing golden orbs appeared from the shadow, and Mirith jumped back. It took her a moment to realize that the two orbs were eyes!

The strange creature stood near the blue crystal, and it was then she saw the faint reflection off the crystal on the creature's back. Two large ears stretched from its head, and despite the fact that the creature was less than half the size of the crystal, its ears reached to the very tip of the crystal. It stood on two feet with two long, spindly arms at its sides. It's fingers almost reached its feet. It's stomach was actually quite round, almost like it had swallowed a large ball.

It opened its mouth and released another low bark.

"What are you?" Mirith asked, inching closer to the strange creature.

It looked up at her with those two golden eyes and tilted its head. Then it turned and began walking off. Before it got very far, it turned to look at Mirith and barked again.

Mirith studied it, confused. "Do you want me to follow you?"

The creature barked again and took a few steps towards the trees before looking back at her.

She shrugged. "Alright. I'll follow you."

It walked towards the forest and Mirith went after it, studying the strange creature in confusion. It continued to look over its shoulder to look at her and when it saw her, it would turn back around and continue walking.

They left the lake behind, walking deeper into the thick forest of Avalar. Mirith had to strain to see the creature in the shadows of the trees but if she got too far behind, the creature would turn and she would walk towards the glowing eyes.

"Where are you leading me?" Mirith finally asked.

The creature only barked, exactly as Mirith expected it to.

She sighed, glancing around the tall trees. She wasn't quite sure what compelled her to follow the creature as she did. It intrigued her. Never in her entire life had she seen or even heard of a creature like the one before her.

It made her wonder; what other creatures were out there that she had yet to discover?

The creature hurried ahead before she could ponder the question for long. It bent its legs and jumped into the air. It landed at least five feet from where it had jumped. Then it turned back to her and barked.

Mirith slowly walked towards it, craning her head to look closer at the creature. It watched her approach, its golden eyes wide.

"What are you?" Mirith murmured, knowing it couldn't reply, but asking all the same.

The creature seemed to squint at her and a quiet thrum emitted from its chest.

The ground under her feet trembled. Before she quite realized what was happening, it caved under her feet, and she fell into darkness.

A scream tore from her throat. Mirith threw open her wings and beat at the air, trying to catch herself. She plunged into water and her scream was cut off as she sank down into the depths.

All she could feel was the water surrounding her, clogging her nose and filling her open mouth. A bright flash of light illuminated the depths for the briefest of moments, so intense, it filled her vision with spots. She felt weightless and heavy at the same time. Her stomach rolled and her head spun.

The water disappeared, yet she continued falling.

It took her shocked wits a long minute to realize she was no longer falling through water, but air! By the time she weakly spread her wings, it was too late.

A hard brown force rammed into her chest, driving the breath out of her lungs and cracking under the weight of her falling upon it.. She tried desperately to gasp for air, digging her claws into the force below her. She felt her claws slipping. She struggled to stay on, a strained gasp tearing from her raw throat.

Her claws gave out on her and she was falling again. She hit another force on her shoulder and several smaller ones scratched at her face and wings. There was one more painful beating to her back, then she landed in a ungraceful heap on something much softer.

She just lay there, taking deep breaths. Her eyes were closed as her panicked mind tried to process what just happened.

It was a long while before she dared to open her eyes. It was bright. Much brighter than she knew it should be. She raised her head with a strangled cry.

No longer was it nighttime, but bright as the afternoon. She lay in the midst of trees with several broken branches scattered around her. Just before her was a small creek with the brightest blue waters she had ever seen. The grass underneath her was soft, almost as soft as the down-filled cushions she slept on at the temple.

Where was she?

Mirith couldn't recognize the landscape, nor could she piece together why it had suddenly turned into day.

_**CRACK!**_

The sound of a breaking branch was all she heard before a great pain entered her skull.

And her world turned black.

~.–.~

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

** Another chapter done! And I must say, it was rather fun to type this one. :D **

**Dragon warrior: Er... I'm rather confused by your review. Yes, this story takes place after Ignitus' death and many years after Malefor's defeat. But Spyro was only mentioned a few times in the first chapter and not at all in the second chapter. So I'm not sure what you mean by Spyro being grumpy? Both Spyro and Cynder will be in the next chapter with Flame and Sparx! They just haven't reached Warfang yet! Thank you for reviewing!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Drip.**_

_** Drip.**_

_** Drip.**_

At first, all he was aware of was the quiet sound of water drops.

As his consciousness grew, he began to feel softness pressed up against his side, and the warmth his wings trapped to him.

_**Drip.**_

_** Drip. **_

_** Drip.**_

His face felt strangely cold. Almost as if his head was in a pile of snow and his body on a warm rock under the sun's rays.

_**Drip.**_

_**Drip.**_

Something traveled up his nose, painfully teasing his senses.

His head shot up with a side-shattering sneeze that made his wings shoot straight upwards. He snorted as the water traveled deeper into his nose, lodging itself in his nostril.

"Why?" he groaned, scratching at his pained nose.

"Finally awake, Flame?"

He looked up at the speaker, Cynder. She sat at the mouth of the cave, just before the rain pattering outside. She had an amused smile on her face, her emerald eyes twinkling.

"Reluctantly," he muttered.

"Then do me a favor and wake Spyro and Sparx up." Cynder glanced out at the rain. "I believe this storm is going to grow worse. We'll want to reach Warfang before the worst hits."

Rain?

Flame sighed, "Sure."

He stood up and stretched his front legs out in front of him, grunting as his back popped. He straightened back up and yawned, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

_**Drip.**_

Another water droplet fell onto his nose. Flame jumped back with a second sneeze. He lifted his face, a frown on his face. Just above his head, he spotted a crack in the cave wall, a small line of stormy clouds visible. He watched as another drop fell from the crack, right where he had been sleeping.

"Seriously?" Flame glared at the crack, his scowl deepening. "The one place I sleep!"

Cynder was laughing from the front of the cave.

Flame decided to ignore her amusement. He turned away from her, towards the back of the cave, abandoning the dip in the ground he had chosen to rest in.

It wasn't difficult to spot Sparx. Even asleep, he continued to glow a bright gold, reflecting light off of the walls of the cave. It was slightly dimmer than normal, but that was most likely from the moss he was sleeping on.

Spyro was a little harder to find. He was asleep in the very back of the cave, where it was warmest. From where Flame stood, he looked like a mere lump. A snoring lump with wings and horns.

Flame padded to the back of the cave, walking past Sparx and heading towards Spyro. He nudged Spyro's back with his paw. "Come on, Spyro. Wake up."

The purple dragon stirred and groggily opened his eyes. He lifted his head and blinked owlishly at Flame.

"We're going?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Yes. Now wake up, you fat lump." Flame turned away from him and walked towards Sparx.

He inhaled a deep breath and released it over the dragonfly. Sparx was blown over with a startled yell.

Sparx lay there for a moment, then he began slowly pushing himself up. The dragonfly's wings twitched. He fluttered up from the moss, rubbing his eyes with two clenched fists. He lowered his hands from his face, a fierce scowl on his lips. He leveled a dark glare at Flame.

"Was that really necessary?" he snapped.

"Yes." Flame gestured his head towards the front of the cave, where Spyro was walking up to Cynder. "We're leaving."

Sparx looked towards the cave mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned back to Flame. "We're leaving? Now? In case you haven't noticed, it's raining!"

"And it's only going to get worse," Cynder cut in. "We should get to the temple before it gets too bad to fly in."

"I agree." Spyro glanced at her, then looked back at Flame and Sparx. "We should get to the temple as soon as possible."

"Oh yes. Let's go flying out into this wonderful summer storm. What could be worse than spending a day relaxing here," Sparx said sarcastically, drifting past Flame towards Spyro.

"You can relax as much as you want once we reach the temple." Spyro led the way out of the cave.

Flame sighed. He reluctantly stepped from the protection of the cave, into the cold rains outside. The rain slid down his scales, washing the last of his warmth away and making him shiver. He growled under his breath, glaring up at the gray clouds overhead.

Sparx was no more cheerful, taking shelter under one of Spyro's wings.

"Let's go." Cynder spread her wings and pushed herself off the ground.

"Great." Sparx had to dart out of the way when Spyro followed Cynder up into the air.

Flame kicked away from the ground, raising himself in the air with several powerful flaps of his wings. He left the cave behind, flying up above the treetops. The higher he went, the colder the rains grew, and the more he shivered.

"Too cold," he muttered. "Too cold!"

"Come on, Flame!" Spyro called over his shoulder.

"I'm coming!" Flame yelled back. He thrust his wings downwards and rose even higher in the air, despite the freezing rains beating on his shoulders and back.

He cast one last longing glance towards the cave and flew after the others. The water ran off his scales and dripped down his nose.

"How far away is the temple?" he asked, just loudly enough to be heard over the sudden roll of thunder.

"Two hours," Spyro answered.

Flame groaned.

~ -.- ~

It was a long, cold, and wet flight. The stormy clouds stretched on as far as the eye could see, growing darker as time passed. The once calm rains were now plagued with thunder and bright flashes of lightening.

Cynder hadn't been wrong in her prediction.

When they had finally passed from thick forests, to wide meadows, Flame almost cried out in relief. They were nearing Warfang.

The constant battering of the cold rain on his back was making him shiver, and he could feel it slowly sapping away his strength and energy. Each wingbeat took more effort than the last, and all he wanted to go was curl up next to a fire and sleep.

The tall stone walls of Warfang rose from the stormy gloom just as thunder shook the skies. Flame forced his chilled wings to speed up, quickly catching up to Spyro and Cynder.

"Come on!" he shouted, flying past them, towards the city.

Flame didn't stop long enough to see if they were matching his speed. He focused his gaze on the approaching city, squinting his eyes against the rain.

The streets were empty, much like they had been the last time he had been here. Although, last time he was here, the buildings had lay in ruins and the temple overlooking it was broken and shattered. There had been no one in the city but the moles, and they had spent most of their time underground.

There were no signs that the war had even happened. The homes and stores had been rebuilt and more added to the edges of the city. The temple was repaired, looking even more elegant than it had before.

Flame dipped downwards. He swiftly landed on the temple balcony. His foot slipped out from under him on the slick rock, almost sending him sprawling. He quickly righted himself, digging his claws into the stone floor to prevent from falling again.

A flash of golden light darted over his head, laughing uproariously.

"Shut up, Sparx!" Flame hurried into the temple hall, shaking water off his scales and wings.

"All right, twinkle toes," Sparx crowed, drifting further into the safety of the hall.

Flame scowled at him.

Spyro and Cynder finally reached the hall, and they shook the water off. Spyro raised his head, looking around the temple hallway.

"It's been so long since I've been back here," he murmured. "Not since-" he paused, his expression darkening.

Cynder reached out and gently touched his shoulder with her wing.

Spyro looked over at her, and forced a smile on his face. "In any case, lets find the Guardians."

The purple dragon walked ahead down the hall. Flame exchanged a glance with Cynder before moving to follow him.

The temple almost seemed lifeless. No one stirred, there were no sounds other than their own footsteps and no light other than the light from the sun, which was almost completely blocked by the thick storm clouds.

Then, there was a movement up ahead. It was faint at first. It grew louder and clearer as it neared them.

A dragon's swift footsteps.

A yellow shape materialized from the shadows. Immediately, Flame knew it wasn't Volteer. It was smaller, leaner than the Electricity Guardian, and walked with a quicker stride.

"What do you know! Terrador was right when he said someone entered the temple! Though its not someone, rather someones!" The electricity dragon stepped into the light from the window, peering at them with bright blue eyes. "Just in time, it would seem! It's very fortuitous that you came today!"

They all looked at each other.

"Who are you?" Cynder asked curiously.

"Oh! Pardon me! Forgetting to announce oneself. Although, if you came here more often, you would know who I am, just as I know who you are!" The yellow dragon saluted them with his wing. "Perun, Electricity Apprentice."

"Apprentice?" Spyro repeated.

"Apprentice." Perun nodded to him. "The Guardians decided they were getting a little old, rather gray, and took apprentices to train to take their place. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it, all of you. It was rather big news for a while there."

Perun gestured down the hall. "Now. Now. It's more than probable you came here to see the Guardians? Right this way! Follow me! Hope you aren't too tired, there is a lot of catching up to do, I'm sure!"

"Doesn't surprise me that he's an electric dragon," Sparx mumbled, trailing behind Spyro.

The Apprentice didn't seem to hear Sparx. He walked swiftly down the hallway, shooting brief glances over his shoulder to make sure they were following.

He led them through a series of hallways, heading deeper into the temple. Now torches lined the walls, lighting the halls in places the windows could not. Perun pushed open a pair of red doors and turned to look expectantly at them.

"-a rather light colored ice dragoness! Light blue scales, light purple crest, white wings; it's preposterous that you don't already know what the ice apprentice looks like!"

Cyril's irritated huff was the first thing Flame heard from the room. The Guardian was standing before a damp breezebuilder, who was warming up next to a fireplace. There were several other dragons gathered in the room, including Volteer and Terrador.

"You haven't seen her?" Cyril demanded.

The breezebuilder shook his head. "You're the first ice dragon we've seen since we arrived," the breezebuilder said. "We've been over the Avalar forest and Hollow lake. There was no sign of a dragon."

Cyril released a long sigh. "Very well then. Tell your breezebuilders to keep an eye out for her."

"Will do." The breezebuilder turned and walked from the room without another word, nodding to them as he passed.

"Spyro. Cynder," Terrador greeted them, turning the attention towards them.

"Why does everyone forget about me?" Sparx complained.

"What's going on?" Spyro asked, ignoring Sparx completely.

"Cyril's apprentice has been missing for two days now," Terrador answered. He shook his head. "We haven't found any news on her."

"It was a most unfortunate, disastrous, ill-fated occurrence." Volteer stood from his place by the fire. "You haven't seen or heard anything of a missing apprentice by any chance?"

"No. Nothing," Cynder answered.

"Do you want us to go look for her?" Spyro offered, looking in between the three Guardians. "We didn't pass over the Avalar forest, but we can see if we can find anything of her."

"No. No. The breezebuilders are looking for her and I'm sure you've had a tiring journey." Cyril lifted his head, gazing over at them with piercing silver eyes. "It has been a long time since we've last seen you here, Spyro. I dare say, there is much we must talk about."

"Yes, there is," Spyro agreed.

"First tell us what happened around here! Everything is so different!" Sparx flew in front of Cyril, gesturing back to the hall.

"And apprentices?" Cynder asked, glancing at Perun and the other two dragons he stood next to.

"This can all be told next to the fire." A tall dark red dragon gestured to the fire with his wing. "Traveling through these rains is just fine for dragons who harness wind and ice. Not so a fire dragon, and I expect the same from a dragonfly?"

"Finally!" Sparx drifted towards the fire dragon. "Someone remembers me!"

"Of course. How irrational of us for overlooking it." Volteer smiled at them. "Come gather around the fire, and we can catch up."

Flame all too willingly ran for the fire, happily abandoning the cold of the halls.

~ -.- ~

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry if someone seems out of character! I tried hard to keep them mostly in character. As a reminder, this is several years after Malefor's defeat, so both Spyro and Cynder have matured. **

** And for those who haven't played the Classical Spyro games or don't know what a breezebuilder is, they are basically blue pelicans from the 2****nd**** classical Spyro game, Ripto's Rage (also known as Gateway to Glimmer) **

** granty619: To a large extent, this story is a crossover of the Classical and Legend games. Thank you for reviewing! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

It was warm. Not hot and humid like Warfang summers, but more like Warfang springs.

Her head ached. There was a pounding pain in her skull, between her horns and just above her eyes.

The first sound she was able to make was a pained groan, but even that made her throat burn. She slowly opened her eyes. The bright sunlight stung her eyes and they watered against the light and the pain.

There was a thick branch just in front of her nose. The tell-tale dent in it the shape of her pointed crest confirmed that it was the same branch that knocked her out.

Mirith slowly lifted her head, blinking the tears back. It seemed to be just as bright as when she first arrived, the clear skies an endless periwinkle. She couldn't spot any missing branches from the trees she dropped through, although leaves scattered the ground around her. But, as she looked around, she noticed there were leaves throughout the entire forest, even in the places she had not reached.

She forced herself to stand on bruised and sprained legs, her wings hanging limply at her sides. Each step was painful, and even her tail ached with each movement. Still she pushed on, whimpering in agony.

She heard the creek before she saw it. A calm brook that weaved through the trees, carrying leaves and twigs with it. It was the clearest water she had ever seen, almost clear enough that it didn't seem to be there.

Mirith gently lowered her paw into the water. It was comfortingly cold. She limped the rest of the way into the creek, then flopped down into the freezing waters, allowing the icy waters to run over her back and neck. She lowered her wings below the water line, there they wouldn't interfere with the running waters.

It soothed her many aches and numbed her sprained legs. Mirith released a long sigh of relief, relaxing in the cool embrace of the waters. She rested her head on the soft grass on the edge of the creek and allowed her eyes to close.

Before she quite knew what was happening, she had fallen asleep.

~.–.~

When she opened her eyes, it had grown much darker. The skies were fading to dark blue, and although she couldn't see the sun, she could see the oranges, golds, and pinks it left behind.

She reluctantly stood up. The winds picked at her soaking form, but she barely noticed. She stepped out of the creek and shook herself dry.

The pain was gone. Mirith tested her wings, then her legs. It was almost as if they had never been injured in the first place!

"Incredible," Mirith murmured.

She looked over her shoulder at the creek. Surely she hadn't been sleeping long enough for the wounds to heal, even with the help of the cold waters!

The quickly lengthening shadows brought her back to the task at hand, finding shelter.

Mirith turned away from the creek and began wandering away, looking around at the many trees around her. Never in her life had she seen a forest like this. The trees were all so similar to each other. They were the same height, the trunks were the same width, and the bark was the same russet brown. The grass under her paws were softer than any grass she had felt before. The texture almost reminded her of feathery down.

_Where am I?_ She wondered.

She had never been particularly adventurous and she hadn't traveled very much since she had become Cyril's apprentice. Sure, she had been to several of the smaller cities that surrounded Warfang, most about a day's travel away. But she had only heard tales of the further places, like the mystic Valley of Avalar and the Swamp that was said to be Spyro's childhood home.

But this place didn't match any of those tales. It had similarities to the Valley of Avalar, but where were the valley walls? The cliffs? The cheetah village?

_No. I'm not in Avalar,_ she decided, peering doubtfully around her.

But then... Where was she?

There was a sudden flash of white between the trees in front of her. Mirith perked at the sight. She quickened her pace, keeping her gaze riveted on that small sliver of white. It steadily grew larger as she neared, weaving around the trees in her way and taking care not to trip over anything.

She broke through the treeline, stepping out of the forest onto a grassy meadow. The meadow didn't reach far, only until it reached a crumbling and cracked wall of white stone. The unbroken parts of the wall stretched far above her head, almost seeming to touch the sky. But the archway was cracked and large chunks of white and golden rock littered the ground where they had fallen from the wall.

The sight brought Mirith no comfort. She carefully stepped over the rocks under the archway and silently breathed a sigh of relief when the wall didn't crumble on top of her. She followed the path of light gray stones, right to the edge of a cliff-like structure.

The cliff cut off to a deep pool of clear water. Here too, she could see white stones at the very bottom of the gorge, covered in algae. The water reached up from the bottom of the gorge, covering a second, smaller cliff across from her. This cliff was lower than the one she stood on, and was completely submerged in water. Beyond it, was another archway, where she could see more water and grassy hillsides.

Mirith leapt from the cliff and flapped her wings to keep above the water. The air here was much harder to fly with. There was no breeze to support her, no air thermals to ride, she had to rely only on the strength of her wings to keep her aloft.

She flew through the archway, her wingtips grazing the golden edges. There was a large lake here, placed closely between a white-stoned castle and several grassy hillsides. Mirith landed on the first place she could without getting wet.

The castle wasn't in much better condition than the wall from before. Chunks of stone were missing, no doubt submerged in the deep lake, and a tower had fallen, only its tip showing above the waters. There were many tall, steep hills here, covered in the greenest grass she had ever seen. There were chunks of the light gray path here and there, but nothing that formed an actual road, or directed her where to go.

She couldn't see very far into the lake, the sky was much too dark for that. She gazed up at the sky, which was rapidly turning into a dark blue. Despite how dark the sky grew, she couldn't see any stars or even a moon.

The day's events weighed down on her, driving away what little energy she had left. She fought the ever growing urge to sleep where she stood, instead focusing her attention back to the castle.

She didn't know what lay inside of it or if it was dangerous. It definitely wasn't something she wanted to explore in the dark and while she was tired. Mirith scanned the lake, searching for somewhere to rest. The only places she could spot were the hills and chunks of stone, which were much too open for her to feel comfortable sleeping on.

Mirith jumped into the air, beating her wings to keep her above the water. She looked thoughtfully at the surrounding hillsides, pondering which would be the best to investigate closer. But then, her eye spotted a small cave.

She headed towards the cave. It was quite a ways above the water, placed at the top of the highest hill. She tucked her wings enough to glide into the cave without hitting either side of the cave. Then she landed on the light gray stone.

The cave was small. If she stretched her wings out, she would touch both sides of the cave. There was a sudden drop in the back of the cave, where she saw the tell-tale rippling of more water. It wouldn't be the most comfortable, but it would do for one night.

Mirith curled up on the stone, resting herself far enough away from the edges of the cave that she wouldn't fall out if she rolled over in her sleep. Then she closed her eyes.

Though she was tired, sleep did not come easily. Her mind rolled with all the events of the day, and the questions she wondered if she would ever manage to answer. What was the creature that lured her here? Where was she?

And most importantly; would she ever manage to get back home?

Sleep was a welcome to her overworked mind, and she drifted off to dreams of the Temple and her friends.

~.–.~

It was fairly early when she awoke. The night sky was quickly giving way to the reds and oranges that welcomed the day. Still, she couldn't see a sun anywhere in the sky.

Mirith stood and stretched the best she could in the small cave. She peered outside, towards the castle. Now that it was bright outside, she could see the more minor damage to the castle. There were countless smaller cracks in the stone and several chunks missing from the wall. Algae had formed on the parts of the castle that were submerged and she could see the remains of a hill that was near the castle.

It seemed, for all appearances, abandoned.

She could see the entrance to the castle under the lake. From what she could see, it had caved in on itself. She looked back to the top of the wall. It was much higher than the cave, and it was hard enough to fly to the cave!

With a deep breath, she pushed herself away from the cave and flew to the top of the castle. She could see something that resembled a courtyard and... and sheep!

Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten since the last dinner at the Temple. At this point, she would be willing to eat a tree. She headed towards the sheep, her eyes narrowing-

-just to collide with something hard.

"Ow!" Mirith drew back sharply, clasping a paw to her sore nose.

There was nothing in front of her! What had stopped her?!

Mirith cautiously flew forward. Now she could feel the breeze of her own wings being blown back onto her face. She reached forward until her paw felt a hard force. She slid her paw around, feeling the invisible wall before her.

What?

She flew to the side. But no matter how far she flew, the invisible wall was there, keeping her from the bounty of sheep just before her. She flew across the top of the castle wall, but there was always that same invisible wall blocking her.

Then, as she drifted past the broken tower, she realized that the breeze was no longer being directed towards her. She backtracked, turning herself in the air and gliding back towards the tower. There was a rather small hole in the castle wall where the tower had been, and a stone corridor behind it.

Mirith carefully reached forward, towards the hole. To her surprise and relief, her paw went right through the hole, into the corridor. She investigated the hole. It would be a tight fit, but she had to try.

She raised herself in the air, keeping her stare onto the hole. She pulled her wings as close as she could to her sides and dived. Her shoulders and wings slipped through the hole, but her thighs did not fit so easily.

Her dive was abruptly cut off when her lower half caught painfully in the hole. "OW!" she cried.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Mirith pushed at the wall with her front legs, slowly, painfully forcing the rest of her body through the gap.

The stone scratched her back legs, but she pushed on until her legs were through and she fell into an ungraceful heap on the ground. She lay there, groaning, until she mustered up enough strength and dignity to stand up and make her way down the hall.

It was much darker here. There was no light available, except from the hole she had forced herself through. It didn't look as though anyone had walked through these halls for many years. Mirith glanced around at the dusty hall, silently surveying the cracks in the rocks around here.

There was a strange rock formation in front of her. Mirith walked towards it, peering at it curiously. There were two thin rock sections traveling upwards, and from what she could see, it had been carved from a gray rock. Thin rock sections littered the place, each carved to perfection and just between the two rising rocks were a bunch of bright green shards and a bent golden case.

_An arc?_ Mirith studied the remains of the arc and the strange green stone that had been broken beneath it. The sight was awfully familiar.

She picked up one of the thin chunks, feeling the smooth rock in her paw. She raised it to her face, squinting her eyes at the miniscule writing at the very edge of the carved stone.

_Portal._

Mirith set it back down, frowning thoughtfully. _Portal? What does that-_

Her thoughts cut off. She stared at the broken arc, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest and her eyes widened with fear and disbelief.

_The classic realms._

~.–.~

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I've been busy recently and have family over visiting. **

** I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, but I wanted to show how Mirith reacted to the situation. **

** Can anyone guess which classic realm she was sent to? **

** Thank you for reading! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors note: I'm so so sorry I haven't updated! It's been a long time, I know. I don't really have an excuse. But from now on, I'll try to update at least once a week!**

* * *

How Warfang had changed since he had last been here.

Only a century before, it had been a city of moles and dragons; two races unified to create one of the largest cities in the realms. Now, it was filled with races from all over the realms. The races brought their own cultures and skills, adding onto the simple but sturdy designs of the moles. United, they had created the Warfang that stood strong, even after Malefor's reign had devastated the lands.

It was beautiful, to say the least.

Far above the city, the temple overlooked the land, a fenced balcony stretching several yards out into the open. On the railing of the large balcony, Flame could see everything. The people down below looked miniscule, mere dots traveling along the streets. Some were smaller than others, either children or people of the smaller races.

They had been here a week, but Flame still felt as though they had only arrived yesterday. He hadn't had much time to explore the diverse city or to relax from the long journey. Traveling with the heroes, Spyro and Cynder, it always seemed as though there was someone out there who needed their help. Breaks were disappointingly rare.

Cyril's apprentice was still no where to be found. Both Hollow Lake and Warfang had been searched thoroughly, with no hint of where the dragoness could've gone. It was as if she had completely disappeared from existence.

The Guardians were restless. A missing apprentice was worrisome to the entire city, especially the disappearance of one as level-headed as the ice apprentice was described. Spyro had been more on edge lately, scouting the lands with the help of Cynder often in the hopes of finding some sign of the apprentice. The longer she was gone, the more nervous the temple became.

Enya had stated, with no hesitance or uncertainty, that Mirith wouldn't have run away. But if this wasn't the case of a dragon running from responsibility-

What had happened? And where was she?

With a sigh, Flame pushed those thoughts out of his head. They had searched everywhere not once or twice but at least four times. There was nothing more he, or any of the other dragons, could do until some other information came up.

He stood, teetering on the railing with the help of his tail and wings. The wind billowed around him, carrying various scents from the city below and the meadows beyond. He spread his wings, bunching his hindlegs underneath him and pushing off the rail. The wind gathered under his wings, bearing him skyward with each powerful thrust.

Flame tilted his body down, his nose pointed towards the city below. He released all control he had of the wind, letting himself fall. When he was a few feet above the ground, he opened his wings, stopping his abrupt fall. People skittered out of the way as the force of the wind surged against them. He landed gently on the street, nodding in a slight apology to the people who had just been tossed around by the wind. They went about their way, some with a huff of indignation.

Ignoring them, Flame began walking, studying the buildings around him. He could see influences from many of the races from the classic realms, and the sight made him give a reminiscent smile.

It had been decades since Malefor had successfully destroyed the portals to the classic realms, forever cutting them off from the rest of the realms. When it had been brought to attention that Malefor was eliminating the portals, there had been an immediate rush to evacuate the classic realms. Flame had been among those who helped aid the creatures from the realms.

He absentmindedly rubbed his long neck with the clawed appendages on the edge of his wing, tracing the scar that stretched over his ruby scales. It had been placed there by a surprisingly skilled ape that had been attacking Wizard's Peak. He should have expected it, he really should have. Fighting in a particularly magical realm like Wizard's Peak had aided the ape more than it had him, especially since the ape seemed to had gathered power from the wizards.

Flame turned his attention to the streets before him. He spotted a shop decorated in wooden masks and intricate carvings, a design that had once been common in the classic realm Idol Springs. He found himself musing on the tropical realm as he walked past the store, which appeared to be selling wooden carvings.

_'I should stay away from there,'_ Flame silently decided. One sneeze and he would be paying for the whole store.

He wandered around Warfang for a while longer, taking silent notes on stores he would investigate closer when he brought gems and coins and silently marveling the mixtures of worlds he remembered from long ago. He would've continued to explore had it not been for the familiar (and oh so annoying) shout.

"Hey! Flame!"

For such a small dragonfly, Sparx had an impressive set of lungs. His yell broke through any other noise that had been made, its volume reaching even over the loud laughter from the group of younglings that were playing nearby.

"What is it, Sparx?" Flame turned his head towards the dragonfly, stepping out of the middle of the street as to not get in anyone's way.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Sparx hovered over Flame's head, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've found something on that dragoness that went missing- Mirith, wasn't it?"

Flame perked up, studying the dragonfly with interest. "You have?"

"Yeah. _I_ found it, by the way. Don't listen to Spyro if he tries to say he did." Sparx gestured towards the temple with a flick of his wrist. "Come on. Everyone is waiting for you."

The dragon leapt into the air, ignoring the startled shouts from the people around him. He made his way to the temple, Sparx taking the lead. The flight was quick and short, ending with Flame landing on the balcony (much more gracefully than he had when they first arrived) and following Spark inside.

Sparx's glow wasn't need in the long hallways, the windows of stained glass allowing plenty of sunlight into the hall. As they neared the intricately carved red doors, Flame could hear the murmur of voices, though he couldn't comprehend any words.

Flame pushed one of the doors open, just enough for Sparx and him to enter. The conversations quieted as he walked towards the gathered dragons, the Guardians, their apprentices, Spyro, and Cynder. To his puzzlement, there was a distressed faun and a satyr also present. By the two's embrace, Flame could only guess that they were a couple. Sparx returned to his common position near Spyro as Flame stopped before the group.

"You've found something on Mirith?" Flame asked.

The dragons exchanged looks and glanced towards the faun and satyr. The faun's bottom lip trembled and her brown eyes shimmered with barely controlled tears. The satyr tightened his hold on the faun in a silent show of comfort.

"We don't know if it has to do with Mirith exactly," Terrador admitted. "But it's the first hint we have of where she could've gone."

"We were visiting Hallow Lake!" the faun cried out, her voice trembling slightly. "I thought Petunia was out swimming with the other children but when we went to get her to go home, she wasn't there!" her voice grew in pitch until the last word, where she burst into tears.

After a moment, with the distraught mother showing no signs of continuing the story, Spyro spoke, "Cynder, Sparx, and I heard them calling out for Petunia and helped them search for her. We found-"

"_I_ found it!" Sparx was ignored.

"-a pit that seemed bottomless," Spyro finished, as if Sparx hadn't spoken at all.

"Technically, it is bottomless." Cynder seemed uncomfortable when the attention was turned to her but she continued speaking. "It seems to be a portal of sorts but it doesn't show where it leads. It's just... empty."

Enya stepped forward. "That _has_ to be where Mirith has gone! She wouldn't just leave!"

"In any case, we need someone to go into the portal," Terrador said with a expectant look at Flame.

Flame glanced at Spyro to see the same look on his face. He fought back a sigh, turning back to Terrador. Of course Spyro would've already offered them to go into the portal.

"Leave immediately?" Flame asked.

"Leave immediately," Terrador confirmed.

Cynder turned to smile reassuringly at the parents. "We'll find Petunia and bring her back," she promised. "No matter what it takes."

"Great! I'm ready for another adventure!" Sparx raised his clenched fists over his head. "Now come on! To the portal _I_ found!"

* * *

"It really is bottomless," Flame commented, looking down into the empty hole several feet below.

It was several feet wide, wide enough to fit Terrador if he tucked in his wings and tail. It was deep within the forest, hidden beneath the thick canopy of the treetops. It certainly explained why no one had seen it when flying overhead.

Flame kicked a rock into the pit and watched it fall, entering the portal with a water-like ripple before disappearing all together.

"Where do you think it will lead?" Cynder asked, looking over to Spyro.

The purple hero looked solemn. "Who knows. It could lead anywhere."

"There's only one way to find out!" Sparx floated directly above the pit. "Whose going first?"

"I will," Spyro said with not a single ounce of hesitation. He sent a look at them. "You can decide who comes next but we need to hurry. We don't know what we'll find. Petunia could be in trouble."

Without another word, he jumped from the edge of the pit and entered the portal. Sparx darted down after him, disappearing not a second later. The surface of the portal rippled and wrinkled for a few moments before smoothing out.

Cynder and Flame glanced at each other. There was a stretch of silence, then Cynder said, "Ladies first."

"Oh hah. You're funny." Flame stuck his tongue out at the dragoness.

He took a deep breath and jumped. The emptiness surged up to greet him, enveloping him in cool calmness.

It really did feel like water.

* * *

**Was that a cliffhanger? I'm not really sure if it qualifies. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A slight gore warning? I don't know if it really counts as gore...**

* * *

Time seemed warped.

As the count of days and nights increased, with no sun to be seen, she has resorted to keeping track of the days with tally marks engraved in a crumbling stone wall. According to the carefully measured lines, she had been here a total of twelve days but that number was only accurate if time in this realm was like the time back home. Not to mention, she had been here for some days before she began keeping track.

And, as far as she was concerned, this realm was_ nothing_ like home.

Each day was the same comfortably cool temperature. Not a cloud passed overhead; the endless blue above remained unobstructed. The nights were just as clear as the days, but she noticed that the stars didn't twinkle here as they had back home. They were just small, distant dots that decorated the skies, neither moving nor glowing.

There hadn't been a single drop of rain, yet the foliage remained as green as ever. Leaves always fell to the ground, but the trees seemed not to lose any leaves and the leaves ended up disappearing overnight, only to restart the falling cycle in the morning. The creeks ran through the forest, starting from the stone wall on one edge of the world and ended at the other wall with an open meadow stretching on either side. She had tried to fly over the walls, fully intending on following the creek, but she had collided, nose-first, with another of those invisible shields.

She was trapped.

Mirith lounged in the shadows of the ruined castle, watching the strange sheep hop around the field below. She had created a nest out of snow, burying herself in the fluffy whiteness. It took some effort to keep the snow from melting. If she walked off, the snow would surely melt within 10 minutes. But the magic it took to keep the snow was worth it for the icy comfort that surrounded her, one last reminder of the home she wasn't sure she could return to.

There were a couple hallways in the castle. Within, she had found other broken portals, nothing that could help her escape from here. She felt like she was in a cage; a cage whose bars couldn't be broken.

She shuffled, a quiet growl emitting from her throat. The sound startled the sheep below, and they went hopping off. The sheep quartet only went a few feet away before stopping and resuming their chewing on the never ending grass. Mirith watched them for a moment, then she allowed her eyes to close.

But sleep didn't come. Not that she was surprised. She had spent most of her time here sleeping. It was an escape from her current predicament that she used too often.

Groaning, Mirith raised her head and turned towards the pile of snow at her back. She opened her mouth as cold prickled her lungs and throat, and released a steady stream of snow. It puffed out in thick clouds, layering over her back. When even her wings and shoulders were covered, she stopped, breathing somewhat heavily.

She rested her head on her paws, turning her eyes to the sheep. She watched them for a few moments as they took large bites of the green grass. A brief idea flitted in her mind. The smallest of smirks curled at the ends of her mouth, her eyes focused on the sheep. They were either ignoring her or unaware of her stare upon them.

Mirith let the cold gather in her chest, opening her mouth ever so slightly. At first, it felt like there was a small stone traveling up her throat. Then, with a quiet cough, she shot the cold outwards. The snow that appeared before her compacted into a smooth sphere as it darted through the air.

The snowball collided with the back of a sheep. The targeted sheep leapt into the air with an alarmed bleat that scared the other three. They all bounded away, the snow gradually melting off the sheep's back. They bounced out of the field, onto the stone floor leading into the castle.

The dragoness snickered when the sheep had disappeared into the hallways underneath her. She settled back down, waiting for the tell-tale hopping that signaled the sheep were returning. They always returned, no matter what Mirith inflicted upon them. At least with the sheep around, she had a source of entertainment and food.

All was calm. As she predicated, the sheep returned to continue eating. Really, it was no surprise they were so plump with their constant feasting. Mirith couldn't doze off, no matter how hard she tried, but didn't stand from her nest of snow. Her mind wandered, reminiscing fondly of her home and friends, and wondering if she would ever return.

Without warning, the sheep began bouncing around. Their hops became faster and more frantic, prompting Mirith to raise her head. She watched as the sheep continued jumping here and there, their dark eyes rolling to stare upwards. At first, they made no other noise other than the sound of their hooves hitting the ground, but that was common enough. They rarely ever made any other noise. But as Mirith watched, they bunched together and scurried for the castle, exchanging worried whines among them. They disappeared under the castle until Mirith couldn't even hear their hooves anymore.

A frown crossed her face. Mirith stood up, shaking snow from her back and wings, and walking towards the edge of the elevated niche she had chosen to nest in. She looked upwards, where the sheep had stared, but saw nothing in the empty periwinkle above her.

So what had scared the sheep so badly?

The sky flashed bright white suddenly, blinding her with the intensity. As she lowered her head, closing her eyes against the light, she heard a loud bang echo through the air. Now, both blinded and deafened, she cowered into her niche, stepping into her pile of snow and slipping in the puddle that had already begun to form. She landed on her side amongst snow and slush, a dozen curses slipping from her mouth.

Nothing else happened. Mirith lay there, spots in her vision and her head ringing. Reluctantly, she lifted her head from the ground, touching the bruise that was already beginning to form on her side after landing so roughly on the ground. She dug her claws into the stone as she stood, snow and water dripping from her back and wing.

_'What was that?'_ Mirith cautiously walked towards the edge of the niche, peering upwards at the sky. She kept her eyes squinted, ready to close her eyes the second it seemed another flash would appear. Nothing happened. There was no other flash or explosion.

Eventually, the sheep came hopping back. They gathered in the field again, acting as if nothing had happened. Mirith watched them for a moment, searching for any sign that they would begin panicking again. When they did nothing out of the ordinary, she sat back on the stone floor, frowning thoughtfully.

What had happened? She pondered over this, tapping her claws on the stone below her. She was so deep in thought, she didn't realize the snow behind her had continued to melt until the puddle had reached her hindquarters. With a grimace, she stood from the water underneath her.

Something had happened, that much was sure. There was only one way she was going to figure out what.

Mirith leapt from the niche, landing amongst the sheep and sending them flouncing away. She ignored them, walking off the field and into the castle. Having been here for many days now, she had explored enough to know how to navigate the main halls of the castle. There were a few smaller and more confusing hallways she had yet to memorize and several passages under the water that surrounding the castle, but she would most likely explore them enough to remember them later. She _was_ still trapped here after all.

She made her way to the hole she had first used to enter the castle. After a couple days had passed since she had first arrived here, she had widened the hole with a few well placed attacks. No point in hurting her hips each time she wanted in and out of the castle. It was still a tight fit, and she had to press her wings tightly against her sides, but it was fairly easy to slide through the hole and leap into flight before she hit the waters below.

At first, she hovered in place, scanning the stone ruins that protruded from the waters and the grassy shores around the lake for anything out of the ordinary. She didn't see anything, so she continued on. She kept her pace slow, slow enough that she could search each pillar and stone platform thoroughly. After searching the area in front of the castle, she left, flying towards the forests outside the broken castle walls.

There was nothing strange here either. Mirith dropped to the ground and began walking again, glancing around the trees. The grassy ground was covered in a layer of freshly fallen leaves, a sight she had become accustomed to. As she walked through the trees, more leaves fell from their branches, occasionally sliding off her back and wings.

Over the sound of creaking branches and slight breeze, she heard a strange noise. Her first thought was that a bird was flying overhead. Then it hit her- there _were no birds_ here. It wasn't a bird.

It was a wail.

Mirith immediately broke into a run, towards the cry that was steadily growing louder. She pelted through the trees, nimbly dodging the smooth trunks in her way. The wailing never quieted or faltered, but seemed to grow in pitch as she approached. The sound was almost deafening when she rounded a particularly thick tree trunk.

A very young faun was collapsed amongst the grass and leaves, her hands covered in blood as she clutched her leg. Her left leg was bent at an unnatural angle, blood sticking to her leg and staining the grass below her. It was the first thing Mirith focused on, and the dragoness bit back a curse when she noticed the injury was still bleeding.

"Oh dear. Oh dear," she repeated the phrase over and over again as she rushed up to the faun child. She peered closer at the broken leg, wincing at the sight of the bone sticking up from the wound. Mirith blew a gust of icy breath over the faun's leg in an attempt to lessen her pain.

"Calm down!" Mirith mentally scolded herself as soon as those words escaped her mouth. What other unhelpful phrase could she utter?

The faun either didn't hear her or was in too much pain to form a response to her. Not that Mirith expected her to. Instead of offering more useless words of comfort, she tried to numb the faun's leg. When frost had gathered on the faun's grey fur, Mirith stopped, easing off the coldness of her breath. Her efforts, though perhaps over zealous, hadn't been futile, and she noticed with relief that the faun's cries had lowered in volume.

Before the pain could come back, Mirith picked the faun girl up by the back of her dress and hurrying towards the nearest creek. It wasn't the gentlest way to carry the faun, and she heard the faun's cries rise in volume, but it was no where near as jolting as flying with the faun in her hands would have been. Though she longed to, she couldn't continue to numb the faun's leg as she neared the creek, not with how she was holding the faun.

She immediately lowered the faun into the creek as soon as she reached the crystal clear waters. As she crawled into the water beside the faun, she silently pleaded that the waters would work upon the faun like they did when she first arrived. Mirith wrapped herself around the faun, making sure not to jostle the faun's broken leg. She was relieved that there was no blood flowing from the faun's injured leg.

"Relax. You're okay. You're safe," Mirith murmured to the sobbing child. She helped the faun get into a more comfortable position, using her body and wings to support the child in the water. "The water will help you, I promise. Just relax."

The faun gripped one of Mirith's horns, her back pressed against Mirith's side and her legs floating in front of her. As the cool waters drifted around them, the child's cries faded into mere whimpers. Then, the faun released a long sigh, letting her head rest against Mirith's shoulders.

Mirith watched the girl's eyes close. The faun relaxed as the water did its work, though her grasp on Mirith's horn remained firm. Mirith didn't try to pull her horn from the child's hold, instead settling as best she could in her somewhat uncomfortable position.

She wasn't sure how long they were there, submerged in the creek's water. The skies were steadily darkening and the stars began to shine as time passed. Mirith held her position around the faun, her wing holding the faun up against her shoulder to prevent the child from sinking under the creek and the faun's hold on her horn forcing her neck to curl backwards ever so slightly. As the time lengthened, she grew more uncomfortable in the rigid position, but resisted the urge to move. Somehow, she managed to fall into a slight doze.

"I'm cold."

The child's whisper brought Mirith to attention. She glanced at the faun, a small frown curling her lips. "Do you feel anymore pain?" she asked.

The girl shook her head, though Mirith heard her teeth beginning to chatter. Mirith stood up, making sure she didn't let the faun fall into the water. She picked her up by the back of the dress again and set her on solid ground, then climbed up after her.

What could she do for warmth? Being an ice dragon, she had no longing for warmth and absolutely no experience with fire. Her scales were cold, much colder than what the faun would need. As much as she hated to admit it, Enya would be much more useful in this situation than Mirith could ever hope to be.

Musing over this, Mirith looked towards the faun. The faun was openly shivering now, her arms crossed over her chest. It didn't help that her torn green shirt was soaked from the creek's cold water. Mirith couldn't leave the faun this cold for much longer. It was just asking for the faun to get sick.

But _what could she do_? She was an _ice_ dragon! There was no type of warmth she could produce, nor magic she could use that would help the poor child. There wasn't a single piece of cloth that Mirith had found within the castle that could be used as a blanket or a single flint rock she could use to at least attempt to make a fire. There was nothing that produced warmth!

Mirith paused at that last thought. _'Or is there?'_ It was a long-shot; an idea that she wouldn't even believe worth the attempt if she wasn't so desperate. But desperate she was. This faun needed heat and she needed heat _now_.

"Do you get along with sheep?" she finally asked.

The faun tilted her head at Mirith, her brows knitting together. "Sheep?" she repeated.

"Sheep." Mirith jumped into the air, pausing only to pick the faun up in her front paws.

She made her way quickly towards the castle, using her powerful wings to keep her pace swift. When she reached the hole in the castle wall, she set the faun carefully in the hole and waited as the faun climbed through the hole and landed safely on the other side. Mirith slid through herself after the faun was out of the way and ushered the faun towards the clearing she had spent most of her time.

The sheep began hopping away when Mirith came into their sight. She immediately backed off, breathing a sigh of relief when the sheep stopped. Almost as soon as they stopped, the sheep settled down to return to sleep, huddling together in a mass of fluffy wool.

Mirith lowered her head until her mouth was beside the faun's ear. "Do you think you could get along with them?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," the faun whispered back.

The faun inched towards the sheep, shivering with each breeze that passed. Mirith crouched near the ground to prevent the sheep from spotting her, watching the faun girl near the sheep with bated breath. She hoped the faun, being a strict vegetarian, wouldn't scare the sheep like a meat-eating dragoness would. And she hoped the sheep would not turn on the young girl and hurt her.

If they did, there would be serious sheep whooping that would be going on tonight.

But the sheep did not even stir as the faun approached them. They only opened their eyes when the faun reached them and was cautiously pressing herself against their soft wool. Mirith tensed, preparing herself to defend the faun should the sheep attack her.

However, to Mirith's great relief and surprise, the sheep only went right back to sleep, allowing the faun to slide herself between them. Mirith watched as the faun's trembling stopped and she fell asleep amongst the sheep, almost completely hidden by the thick wool.

Now that the faun was safe and warm, Mirith felt the day's events crash down upon her. She didn't dare move, in case she startled the sheep, so she slowly lay down where she was, resting her head on her paws. She drifted off to sleep, listening to the faun's snores from the clearing.

* * *

**A slightly longer chapter than usual! **

**I hope you enjoyed reading! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"I never thought I would live long enough to admit fire is more useful than ice."

The words tasted bitter on her tongue. If Enya heard her say that, the fire dragoness would never let her forget it. She would rub it in her face until the ends of time.

Mirith's glare upon the sticks in her paws intensified. The sides of the sticks were being worn the longer she spent rubbing them together, trying to create an ember to place in the carefully selected kindle and branches before her. Her arms were beginning to ache but she forced herself to continue, muttering curses under her breath.

"You have never made a fire before?" The young faun, who Mirith learned was named Petunia, was lounging nearby, eating a cluster of berries she had found.

Of course, Mirith tried the berries before allowing Petunia to eat them. They tasted awful to her, as attached to meat as she was, but she recognized them as cranberries. Why cranberries were growing here, she had no idea, but at least Petunia had something to eat.

Her stomach growled at the thought of food. After Petunia spent the night cuddling with sheep, she became attached to the irritating pests and firmly forbid Mirith from eating them. The lake was filled with fish but Mirith had no experience or skill in fishing, so that food source was unavailable.

She finally decided to sneak a sheep when Petunia was asleep. It would regenerate before the faun woke up and Petunia would never know the difference.

Mirith focused back onto the sticks but there were still no signs of a fire anytime soon. She finally threw the sticks away with a frustrated snarl and threw herself backwards. "I give up!" she snapped. "I can't do it! Fire sucks!"

"That's okay!" Petunia reassured her. "I'll just sleep with the sheep again tonight!"

_'But I don't want you to.'_ Mirith groaned, covering her face with her paws. How was she going to get a sheep behind Petunia's back if the faun was among them?

"We'll figure something out," Mirith said. "You won't have to sleep with the sheep again."

Petunia didn't reply, shoving another handful of cranberries in her mouth. By this point, Mirith was seriously considering turning into an omnivore. It wasn't as if she wasn't able to live off fruits and vegetables, they just tasted disgusting. Her upper lip curled in disgust at the thought of having to eat berries.

"I like the sheep," Petunia suddenly said. "Papa used to have a pig. His name was Hamster. He used to dance when Papa played his flute. The sheep remind me of him."

"What?" Mirith raised her paws from her eyes, looking at the faun across from the pile of sticks. "You had a pig... named Hamster?"

The young girl nodded. "I miss him."

Mirith didn't know what to say to that. She pushed herself up onto her hindquarters, staring at the pile of sticks with resignation. "We'll figure something out," she mumbled again. "Who knows, maybe there is some flint around here or something."

"I can sleep with the sheep," Petunia reminded her. "I've been thinking of names for them."

"Great," Mirith sighed. She was going to feel even more horrible after she stole a sheep. If Petunia found out, the faun might never forgive her.

Suddenly, the sky flashed, the intensity of the light blinding her. Mirith heard Petunia cry out in shock, and she lunged for the faun on instinct. Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach, and she anticipated what would happen next.

Squinting through the dots in her vision, Mirith spotted Petunia quivering on the ground, her hands thrown over her eyes and the cranberries scattered across the ground. Mirith didn't hesitate. She jumped upon the faun, throwing her paws over the child's ears.

She was just in time. As soon as her paws were covering Petunia's ears, the air shook with a ear-splitting eruption. Mirith's head thundered like it had before, the pain making tears prickle the back of her eyes. She pulled her paws from Petunia's ears, shaking her head against the incessant ringing inside her head.

Before she could recover her wits, she felt the ground beneath her paws give a tremendous shudder. The force would have thrown her off her feet if she hadn't dug her claws into the soil below. Mirith froze. That hadn't happened before! Mirith forced her eyes open, even though the spots in her vision made it hard to see. She raised her head, looking around between scrunched eyes.

Mirith didn't see anything different. The ground didn't move again but she kept her claws embedded in the ground just in case. She looked to Petunia and was relieved to see the child was all right. The faun had already pushed herself up, rubbing her eyes with her palms.

"What was that?" Petunia asked quietly, edging towards Mirith's side. She reached out to grasp the edge of Mirith's wing, her other hand still rubbing her watering eyes.

"I think someone else arrived." Mirith blinked away the spots and turned to smile comfortingly at Petunia. "Are you okay?"

Petunia thought over that for a moment, then nodded. "Will that happen again?"

"I hope not. Twice is enough," Mirith muttered that last part. She gently pulled her wing from Petunia's grasp and draped her wing across her. "Come on. Let's go see who came."

She led Petunia towards the area she had found the faun, leaving behind the scattered cranberries and sticks. Petunia stayed close to her side, remaining safely under her raised wing. They weren't too far from the place and it was easy enough for Mirith to locate.

However, before they could break through the trees to see the newcomer, the sky flashed again. This time, both Mirith and Petunia yelped, though Mirith's wing protected Petunia from some of the glare. Mirith only spared a second to glance back at Petunia, furiously blinking her eyelids in an attempt to clear her vision. As soon as she noticed the faun had thrown her hands over her ears, she raised her own paws to cover her sensitive ear holes.

The explosion was muted this time. Mirith breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her paws from her head. She kept her wing protectively over Petunia, ushering the faun forward. Now she could hear pained groans coming from the trees in front of her but she couldn't recognize who they were. The two finally broke through the trees, but what was before them stunned her.

The trees had been thick and numerous. But now, there was a large crater amongst the trees, at least three times the size of Mirith and at least three feet deep. Mirith only just managed to see two dragons collapsed in the center of the crater before a third blinding light flashed through the world.

"Oh come on!" Mirith yelled, immediately raising her paws to protect her ears, squeezing her eyes shut.

Yet another burst echoed on the air. Mirith wrapped her wing more securely around Petunia, pulling the faun even closer to her side. She waited several moments before cracking an eye open, cautiously taking her paws from her ear holes. She checked Petunia, and breathed a sigh of relief when the faun only appeared irritated, rather than in pain. Petunia had jammed her fists into her eyes, most likely massaging the spots from her vision once more.

Mirith turned to the newly formed crater. Now there were three dragons in the crater. Each of them were groaning in pain, nursing aching limbs and rubbing sore heads. When Mirith noticed one of the dragon's purple scales, she stiffened, her eyes widening.

There were only two purple dragons she had ever heard of, and considering one of them was dead, she could easily guess who was in the crater this very moment. Swallowing a sudden lump of nerves in her throat, Mirith studied the other two dragons. There was a sleek black dragoness pushing herself up, the unique markings on her forehead and shoulders making her all the more recognizable.

_'Spyro and Cynder.'_ Mirith gasped, rushing to the edge of the crater. Of all the scenarios she thought she would meet the legendary heroes, this was _not_ one of them. She didn't recognize the red dragon that was with them. They were pulling themselves out of the dragon pile they had formed, obviously in a lot of pain.

"Oh dear!" Mirith left Petunia behind for a moment, jumping into the crater. She rushed up to the dragons, wanting to help them stand but not quite daring to reach out to them. "Here, come on! The creek will help you feel better!"

Spyro opened an eye to look over to her. His eyes were clouded over in pain, but he still spoke kindly, "Are you Mirith?"

Mirith blinked in surprise. "Yes. I am." She gestured towards the edge of the crater, in the direction the creek was. "Come on. We can discuss things later."

The purple dragon grunted in acknowledgment and made his way towards the edge of the crater. Mirith watched the three clamber out of the crater, waiting nearby in case they needed help. As she was watching them, she became aware of a chuckling nearby.

"Don't they look legendary and noble?"

The new voice was deep. Mirith turned towards the sound, her eyes landing upon a golden dragonfly hovering near her head. He was grinning, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sparx?" Mirith asked hesitantly.

"The one and only." The deepness of his voice seemed disproportionate to his size. He turned to the dragons slowly climbing out of the crater to the voiced encouragement of Petunia. "Spyro would've been okay if the other two didn't land directly on him."

Mirith walked towards the edge of the crater, jumping out easily enough. She took her place at the front of the group and led them towards the creek. Petunia hurried up to her side, grabbing onto the edge of her wing once more.

"It's Spyro and Cynder," Petunia whispered excitedly to her.

"Yes, it is." Mirith noticed Sparx flying beside her and asked him quietly, "Is anyone else coming?"

Sparx shook his head. "Not that I know of. I certainly hope not." He winced, raising his hand to rub his head. "Does it flash and explode every time someone gets here?"

Mirith nodded. "Unfortunately."

They made it to the creek. Mirith urged the dragons to lay down in the cool waters. The trio seemed to be in too much pain to be skeptical and arranged themselves in the creek waters. Mirith sat near the edge of the creek, kneading the soil and grass with her claws.

Petunia took a seat next to her, leaning her back against Mirith's arm. "Are you here to take us back home?" she asked.

"Yes. We'll get you home as soon as possible." Cynder smiled kindly at the faun.

Her words made the faun brighten, and Petunia settled back against Mirith with a content sigh.

Mirith found herself fighting back a frown. "I don't know how," she murmured. "I've searched this world top to bottom and I can find no way out."

"What about the other portals?" Spyro asked. His head was resting on the edge of the creek, his eye opened a crack to look at her.

"All broken. There's barely anything left of them." Mirith shook her head. "It's like there's an invisible wall around us."

"The shield was set there countless centuries ago. There's a shield around each of the realms. They were set there to keep uncontrollable magic at bay," the red dragon explained. He didn't even bother to open his eyes as he spoke, "As old and powerful as they are, I'm not surprised they managed to remain even after Malefor destroyed everything."

"Uncontrollable magic?" Cynder repeated. "What uncontrollable magic?"

"No one really knows what exactly the magic can do and where it came from. It plagued the realms when they were first being created and created many of the monsters that had lived in the realms. When it started affecting the inhabitants in the realm, several Magic Crafters, Dream Weavers, and a purple dragon gathered to create the shields. They were created to be unbreakable."

"I didn't know all that," Spyro said with a frown.

"It's not something that's widely taught. But I had to do my research," Flame grunted.

There was a short pause. Then Mirith asked, "What would happen if the shield broke?"

Flame shrugged, then winced. Apparently the creek hadn't fully healed him yet. "It's anyone's guess."

"We're not here to talk about an invisible shield! We're here to try and get home!" Sparx rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"We'll figure something out," Spyro promised.

Cynder hummed in agreement. "We always do."

* * *

**Author's Note: Another chapter down! For anyone curious, the Dream Weavers and and Magic Crafters are from the first Spyro game "Spyro the Dragon."**

** bootkr00- Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it! :)**


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